men had not yet fully realized the possibilities of helping one
another, and partly that they were ignorant of how to make Nature
really an efficient aid in getting them a living.

65. THE NEW WAY OF GETTING A LIVING.--After the middle of the
eighteenth century the invention of a series of remarkable machines
enabled Englishmen greatly to increase their productivity, first in
the manufacture of textiles, and later in numerous other industries.
By subdividing their labor more and more minutely, and by each
specializing in the particular type of work which he could do best,
men found that their total output could be greatly increased. This
complex division of labor, made possible by the use of water and steam
power to run machines and to move vehicles of transportation, reduced
the difficulty of getting a good living, that it constituted a
veritable revolution in industry. Indeed, this change is known in
history as the Industrial Revolution.

66. EFFECTS OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.--In the last century and a
half the Industrial Revolution has spread to every important civilized
country in the world, everywhere encouraging the application of
machine methods to more and more industries. This change from
production on a small scale, and often by hand, to large-scale
production in factories equipped with complex machines, has had
important results. It has so increased our control over Nature that
even the humblest workman of to-day enjoys many comforts denied kings
a few centuries ago. On the other hand, the Industrial Revolution has
tended to create a numerous class which depends entirely upon wages,
and to set off against this class an employing group which possesses
and controls most of the income-producing equipment of industry. The
significance of this last development will become clearer as we go